I tried the North East's newest spa and it's offering a super private experience

Swallows swooping and swifts speeding past in an impressive aerial display over unspoilt pastures as we lay on our private terrace, we felt miles away from civilisation.

The Woodland Spa is indeed a fitting name for the newest addition to the region’s spa scene.

However, you don’t have to drive through miles of woodland to reach this peaceful haven: its treatment rooms and private suites have been created at the back of South Causey Inn, near Stanley, one of the County Durham’s most well-known and popular restaurants, hotel and wedding venues.

With the hustle and bustle of the main house more than earshot away, the spa has its own entrance and its own identity and feel separate from the rest of the venue.

We were invited to try out one of its four new spa suites, which offer a more private spa experience than most.

Up to four people can book one of the suites and you get it exclusively for three hours for slots running from 8am to 6.30pm.

If you were really wanting an escape from it all you can book it for yourself, or divide the cost with up to three mates.

What’s included

Each of the four suites has the same design and includes:

*sauna

* steam room

*plunge pool

* hydrotherapy whirlpool

* private balcony

*Bathroom and shower and dressing station with straightners, hair dryer and toiletries

*Robes, towels and slippers

*Private butler service for drinks (additional drinks to welcome drink to be paid for)

With these being private suites, I wasn’t sure how big they would be, but there was more than enough space for two of us and easily enough for two more.

We visited on a warm Saturday afternoon and, after a 25 minute drive from Sunderland, instantly felt our stresses slough off as we entered the suite.

As I said, it already feels separate to the rest of South Causey, which is famously filled with all manner of curiosities, and that’s echoed in the spa’s aesthetic with golden stone walls, tasteful mood lighting, a muted neutral colour palette and raffia details.

We didn’t book any treatments on top of our suite hire and instead spent the three hours flitting between the huge whirlpool (which could easily fit eight), the steam room and sauna and the balcony overlooking the Beamish Valley and its rich birdlife which was incredibly relaxing.

I wasn’t feeling brave enough for the plunge pool but my friend assured me it was breathtakingly cold.

Everything is provided on your stay, down to an ice bucket with cold flannels and we didn’t find ourselves in need of anything.

The butler service, which you access with a bell intercom to order drinks, is also a nice touch, which helps to elevate the experience from busy spas elsewhere in the region.

The cocktails are pricey at around £11.95 but were of a great, fresh quality and conveniently delivered to your spa, which all adds to that private, personal touch.

Is it worth it?

We had the entry level spa experience: use of a suite for three hours for four people, welcome drink and private butler service, which starts from £250.

The new Woodland Spa has its own treatment rooms, with TEMPLESPA treatments, with a variety of packages combining wellness experiences with lunch, afternoon tea, dining and overnight stays at South Causey Inn, all at various price points.

For the quality of the spa, comparing it to others in the North East, and the fact you get it to yourself, I’d say our package was good value for money, especially between four of you which takes it to £62 each for three hours of private pampering.

You can’t take your own food and drink into the suites, but you can have drinks served to you pretty swiftly with the butler service with a range of soft drinks starting from £3.30, spirits from £4.35, bottled beer from £5.20, cocktails priced around £11.95, with wine and non-alcoholic options also available.

We were also given a ‘tapas lunch’ (tapas meaning small plates, rather than Spanish food) as part of our experience, which would be an additional cost to the £250.

You get a tower of tapas each and can choose from options such as garlic wild mushrooms, caprese bruschetta, halloumi bao buns and more.

It’s certainly substantial and neither of us could finish ours, however, it does feel a bit of a shock to the system to go from the serenity of the spa to the busy and bustling main dining room at South Causey Inn on a weekend, which always seems to be chockablock.

You can’t take food into the suites themselves, understandably, as no one wants crumbs in their whirlpool.

However, maybe there could be scope in the future to offer food elsewhere in the spa area to ramp up the relaxation of the day.